Bid to end cat declawing defeated

Veterinarian Hugh Chisholm had put forward a motion to end the practice of declawing cats in Nova Scotia, which was defeated at a meeting Wednesday night. (TED PRITCHARD / Staff / File)

A Halifax vet has lost his bid to have the practice of declawing cats banned in Nova Scotia.

At a meeting of the Nova Scotia Veterinary Medical Association Wednesday evening, Hugh Chisholm’s motion to end declawing was defeated in a vote of 34 to 8 with one abstention.

“I’m disappointed,” Chisholm said in a telephone interview late Wednesday evening.

“A lot of veterians don’t want to be forced,” Chisholm said.

However, all but one of the vets who spoke at the meeting said they don’t like to do the procedure and usually try and counsel clients against it, Chisholm said.

Last fall, Chisholm presented a petition from a member of the public calling for the association to end the practice and, at the same time, made his motion.

Declawing is probably the most painful surgery cats endure, the veteran vet said. And it’s a procedure that can have complications, including pain that can last up to 12 days and infections.

Some cats suffer chronic pain from the operation and some never walk properly again, Chisholm said. There have also been incidents of severe stress that have resulted in bladder infections, he said.

It’s not easy to tell that a cat is in pain because the animal’s natural instinct is to hide its symptoms. Following declawing, a cat that seems to be sleeping a lot may actually be trying to cope with its pain, Chisholm said.

The procedure involves removing the bone that claws grow out of, he said.

Chisholm said he believes most veterinarians love animals but they tend to be a conservative lot. He admits he hadn’t expected that the motion would pass, but he says he’ll keep trying.

Chisholm had hoped that Nova Scotia would become the first jurisdiction in North America to ban declawing. Currently more than 22 counties have banned the procedure and as more jump on board, Chisholm said Nova Scotia is likely to follow.

Many veterinarians do the procedure because they are afraid clients will euthanize their pets if they aren’t declawed, Chisholm said. Others want the income the procedure brings in, he said.

Chisholm used to own the Cat Hospital in Halifax and performed declawing until the early 1990s.